Friday, March 10, 2006

Beep Beep

I can't help but think of the song by The Playmates about the Little Nash Rambler when I hear a "beep beep" directed at me while riding my bicycle. Whomever is behind the wheel and feels the need to attempt to warn, scare or make me move out of the street with their horn is just a Little Nash Rambler to me. The operators of these vehicles who choose to "beep beep" me are normally not very large in stature, unless large is solely defined by obesity. These operators are all "Little" in that their narrow little minds can not fathom why a bicycle is using the roadway. Automobiles do not own the roadway and in fact bicycles have just as much right to be there as they do. "Little" minds just don't get it.

Last week, a motorist decided to be "Little" with me by "beep beeping" and swerving dangerously close in passing. What he failed to see with his "Little" mind was that the four way stop ahead was about fifteen cars deep. The look on his "Little" face said it all when I pulled up next to him and asked if he had a problem. This "Little" man hit the electronic lock and proceeded to display his middle finger. A true hero. After informing him that he would never muster the intestinal fortitude to display his "Little" finger outside of the comfort of the gigantic pickup truck he was piloting, I pedaled towards home.

While tooling down the street, I could not help but think about another nostalgic item from my past. As a kid, I had a poster of the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote. Wile E. Coyote was depicted with his hand around the Roadrunner's neck and the poster's caption was "Beep Beep, Yurass!" Ending any day with a chuckle that good has been a great day.